Proceedings Paper

Short exposure times enable images to capture extremely high-speed motion. Two illumination systems that support imaging with short exposure times are discussed in this paper. The MegaSun plasma discharge illumination system for ultrahigh-speed imaging (approximately 1 million frames per second (fps)) was described at the previous Congress. It provides a single "long" pulse of broadband light sufficient to replace argon candles; the pulse duration can be adjusted to provide uniform illumination for the required number of frames (typically 30 μs to 60 μs) and rapidly extinguishes thereafter. This paper presents the optical and electrical features of a larger energy version of the system, the Super MegaSun, powering new lamp configurations. It provides a full width half maximum (FWHM) pulse of 90 μs. Short exposure times that freeze fast motion are also useful for high-speed framing cameras imaging fast events at rates from 500 fps to several thousand fps. A repetitively pulsed strobe was previously demonstrated that provided short pulses (a few microseconds) at up to 1850 fps synchronized with a film camera for a special test scenario. Some variations of this system that may have more general application are also discussed in this paper.